Dior Escale a Portofino Review

Wow - I can't believe that I waited until the end of summer to try out last year's new release from Dior: Escale a Portofino.I know. This is not a new release. I'm quite late to the party on this one in two regards: first, it debuted over a year ago and had to be one of the best perfume releases in 2008, and secondly: it's a summer scent! And it's September! But I can't help it. I live in Florida, and I am new to the hobby. Thankfully, it's almost always summer here, so I can enjoy this citrus scent even though it's already fall in the rest of the country.Escale a Portofino launched in limited release in 2008, so it's new to me. This year's release in the same triology (Escale a Pondichery) seems equally limited edition, since it wasn't in Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue or Nordstroms...

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Hermes Rose Ikebana (Perfume Review) - compared to YSL In Love Again

Hermes Rose Ikebana was instantly one of my favorite perfumes. I still recall when I first tried it: it was a sunny Sunday in the spring, and I was standing in my bathroom when I first sprayed it on my arm. In the first 10 seconds, it was incredibly strong, with three main notes punching out and struggling forward as if they were each racing to monopolize the scent. I immediately smelled the sharpness of grapefruit, the warmth of rose petals (sans the powder you find in fragrances by designers other than Jean Claude Ellena), and the damp tug of black tea to tie the two together. And then, perhaps the most critical addition, the rhubarb is there. It was not a singular, detectable note in that first sniff—because truly, how many among us can recognize the scent of rhubarb? In the beginning,...

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Hermes Pamplemousse Rose: More than just another rose & grapefruit perfume

It's September now, and I am trying Hermes Pamplemousse Rose again after several months of it laying forgotten (but organized) in my large perfume sample stash. I received a spray sample of it as a birthday gift from my mother, and I liked it enough when I tried it initially, but it paled in comparison to Rose Ikebana (which had inspired me to seek out the other rose and grapefruit fragrances created by Jean Claude Ellena).But now, after several months of letting it sit idle, I am sampling it once again. Why? Because Pamplemousse Rose just hit the discounters, just 4 mere months after it's initial launch, and I wanted to see how that could happen. Plus, there's an additional 20% off sale through Labor Day, meaning that I could score a 3.4oz bottle for just $50. That's roughly half what it...

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